Bee in your Bonnet?

Up until now, if you wanted to make a formal complaint to a commercial tv station you had to send or fax an actual letter - I mean putting actual pen to actual paper and purchasing an actual envelope (yes, they still make them). 

Well, times they are a changin' and we have this newfangled gadget called the in-ter-net nowadays - and FreeTV Australia has caught on.

SO - if you want to make a complaint about a commercial free-to-air station you just have to go here and fill out the webform. Easy as that.

Perhaps you'll complain about the frequency of Two and a Half Men episodes being aired? - every two and a half minutes as far as I can tell (or that they're aired at all). Perhaps you'll complain about Benny Hill episodes being aired in prime time on channel 7TWO when the youngens can watch and learn his vomit-inducing skills in objectifying women and terribly unfunny what-I'm-assuming-are-supposed-to-be jokes? Maybe you'll complain about the lack of ethnically diverse characters on Neighbours? Or how about that old chestnut of the advertisements being ten times louder than the programs? (I should point out they have a whole page addressing that very issue - which should by no means stop you complaining).

Ohhh, there's so much joy to be had in whingeing. Come on Australia - this is what we do best - and now it's been made easy! Just two minutes away from your Facebook stalking could have you receiving carefully worded emails from the stations explaining to you that your comments have been taken into careful consideration! Pure JOY!

Obviously you're not reading this anymore because you're already over there telling Mel and Kochie just exactly what you think of them ... ahhhhh, so much potential.

* I should point out that the page states;

This Electronic Lodgement System can only be used for complaints under matters covered by the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice. Code Complaints include program classification;  accuracy, fairness and respect for privacy in news and current affairs; the amount of non-program matter on television; and placement of commercials and program promotions.

But there are links to other feedback avenues so don't let that stop you.

Packed with Advertising

I've noticed during the final ad-break for Packed to the Rafters (channel 7, Tuesdays 8:30pm) that there is an advertisement for Sunrise with Mel and Kochie talking about a hot-topic from the show. For example, tonight it was something like this; (Kochie says to camera) "Wow, Trish certainly has some tough times ahead, join us tomorrow when we talk about separation and finding yourself divorced in middle-age." (- relating to the plot-line of tonight's Rafters and the character "Trish" dealing with her divorce).

It's been happening every week. Then of course, the Sunrise ad is followed by an ad featuring Jessica McNamee (who plays Sammy in the show, and is also currently starring in channel 7's Dancing with the Stars) flogging some kind of insurance. Later in the ad break we have Zoe Ventoura (who plays Mel) flogging a skin product.

And another thing - speaking of overkill, I'm looking at you Delta Goodrem. Let's see, Delta flogs Nintendo DS, Sunsilk, So Good, Proactive skin products, and even Australia in general ...

I couldn't tell you when she last released an album - or anything she's done in the way of singing actually (besides above, of course) - I guess the ads are paying pretty well.

Oh, and if that's still not enough, you can also see Delta in ads for Australian Idol at the moment where she will be featuring as a guest judge.